Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Back to School and Big Girl Stuff











Every time I post, it seems like there are so many milestones that I have to skip over a lot of them and just focus on a few. This time, I promise to hit the big highlights. As I posted earlier, Sophia was "learning" to ride a bike without training wheels. She finally did it! Now she is flying all over the place, and my and the hubby had to get bikes of our own to keep up. Celia is not a huge fan of the helmet I force her to wear, but she does enjoy riding with me, so it's a wash and she puts up with it so long as I go fast. Monday was the first day of school for both Sophia and Maia. Last year I bawled when I dropped Sophia off for preschool. This year, not so much! I had a little moment when I dropped off Maia, but I didn't cry, and I was good after Miss Sophia got on the bus. Both girls seem to love school, and I am loving the break I am getting while they are gone. Maia is definately not a morning person, so it's hard to get her moving in the morning. She just cries and says it's too early to get up. Can't wait for the teenage years! All in all, things are going smoothly, though we almost missed the bus this morning, and I'm sure the girls will continue to love school.
On the darker side, the girls are having to learn a bit about the sad side of life lately. My grandmother was found wandering a few weeks ago, and since then was diagnosed with two different forms of dementia, and later we discovered she also has stage 2 lung cancer. The girls have visited the nursing home my grandma is now at, and have been so wonderful by not asking too many loud questions while we are there! It is a side of life that we all must deal with at one time or another, and it is an awesome responsibility to teach your children the proper way to handle and cope with the situation. We don't know what the outcome will be yet, as there is a lot more testing to be done, but regardless, we have been trying to see my grandmother as often as possible and are so grateful to have her in our lives.
Lastly, Celia has become a monkey on speed set on fire with the way she moves. That kid is so fast, so dexterous, and so smart that there is no way to keep up. I've actually lapsed into fantasies of having a giant monkey cage in my room to safely sit her while I do such exotic things as clean or cook lunch. I don't have any pictures of her doing her typical stuff because I'm usually too busy yelling and running to catch her to take a picture, but I think the sitting in the drawer picture is cute. I will try and calm myself enough to take a picture of her standing on the table/counter/computer desk next time she is up there, which shouldn't be too long. When I do, I'll be sure to post it. Now, I'm going to enjoy the next 1/2 hour of silence!

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Summer summer time.....
















Two weeks to go until school begins, and we are really cramming the best summer has to offer in. Blueberry picking, trips to Purdue's varities of fountains, baseball games, gardens, parks, and zoo trips abound. Sophia's in the process of learning to ride her bike without training wheels. I don't recall that being such a traumatic experience as a kid, but perhaps it was so bad I blocked it out. She started the process crying and freaking out, which by a general rule is not condusive to riding a bike, as it is hard to see where you are going with tears in your eyes and snot running all over. We're making progress, and as long as she doesn't realize we've let go, she is able to ride. The problem is the second we let go, she lets go. So there is a lot of work to be done. We're all ready for the beginning of school. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with one kid two days a week. It's only for 3 hours that I'll be alone with Celia, but it will no doubt be odd. Being the third, she is always having to stake her claim and demand attention. The few times where the other two have gone somewhere with James, Celia and I had a great time once we figured out what to do, so I'm really getting excited to know her better as an individual, rather than part of the herd. She is really becoming verbal, and understands a lot. She can follow pretty much any direction you give her, knows most of her body parts, and says probally 15 words now. Every day there is something new. Yesterday it was "Spongebob". It's amazing to watch her blossom, and remember how Sophia and Maia went through that same process. It seems like a lifetime ago, even though it was just a few short years. Now that my last totally free summer is coming to an end, and we are about to become a part of the larger world outside my family and friends, I know that things will change dramatically. And I'm looking forward to it.